


Judgment Day

by MichyStar



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-26
Updated: 2013-05-04
Packaged: 2017-11-12 23:26:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/496841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MichyStar/pseuds/MichyStar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>New legislacerators must go through many trials and tests to prove themselves. Once appointed they are expected to their jobs to the fullest extent, and cause no trouble. But sometimes rules need to be broken to have some fun. What's life without risks?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is already finished, I'm just now uploading it onto here.

"Why should we allow someone of your kind to be a legislacerator? What good would it bring us to have an incompetent teal blood on our court? Please, explain it to me. We only use the best legislacerators in this city after all."

"Well, sir, I feel that I should be allowed to serve as one of Her Imperious Condescensions legislacerators because I simply am one of the best."

"And what makes you so sure of that?"

"Why should I waste my breath explaining it to you, when you can simply see for yourself if you allow me to join?"

". . . You are a snarky one; you think highly of yourself."

"Would I think so highly of myself if I did not have a good reason to? I am not one who would think high of themselves if they were useless, sir. In fact if that were the case I would most likely not even attempt to do what it is I am doing right now. All I am requesting is to be granted permission to become an official legislacerator, is that really such a difficult proposal?"

She didn't have to look up to know that yellow eyes were glaring down at her. Those old trolls never liked having someone with blood lower than their own being smart with them, if they got too angered they could easily order her death right then and there. But they wouldn't, and she knew that. Regardless of the fact she was a low blood compared to them; she still had passed all the tests with amazing results, and had survived all her training sessions. There simply was no one like her; and that was the truth. They would have to accept it sooner or later.

"We are done here!" The troll sitting in the front seat slammed his hands on the table, letting the sound echo throughout the large room for a moment before continuing, "We will see you tomorrow."

The outburst hardly fazed her. In fact it just made her push on. With a grin she commented, "Tell His Honorable Tyranny I said hello."

After the old grumps had cleared out she was left in a dark silence. To some this may have looked bad—her standing alone in the middle of this dimly lit room—but she knew it wasn't. All it proved was that she had won. She had been appointed, whether they admitted it out loud or not did not matter.

Eventually a green blooded troll came to retrieve her, leading her down a still dimly lit hallway until they reached a door opening to the courtyard of the building. It took her eyes a second to adjust to the sunlight, but luckily her red glasses blocked most of the rays. The servant bid her a quick farewell, and rushed back inside. Even then she wasn't completely alone; guards were surrounding her and her lusus making sure nothing went wrong. One can only be so careful when a large grey dragon is in the middle of a courtyard.

Striding over to her lusus Redglare unhooked the collar she had been forced to put on Pyralspite when they arrived. It had ticked her off, but she wasn't about to lose her cool over such a trivial thing. "They loved me, Pyralspite, I know they did. Tomorrow I will be in front of Her Imperious Condescension, just you wait and see." Raising a gloved hand to pet the dragon on the side of his face she allowed a rare soft smile to cross her features, but knowing she was still in the presence of the guards she didn't leave it on too long. Backing away she moved to the side of the dragon, climbing onto the back of its neck. Some of her old acquaintances would always chastise her for riding a dragon without a saddle, on the back of its neck no less, but she never fought back. She took risks, it was in her nature. What's the point of living if you're not going to take risks?

When finally situated with her position Redglare tapped on the back of Pyralspite's neck, and within seconds they were air born. All the way back to her hive she couldn't help but keep repeating to herself, "I did it. I made it in."

. . .

News of Neophyte Redglares appointment to the board of official legislacerators had hit Alternia like a storm of bricks. Everyone was shocked some one of that blood color got the job, as it was usually reserved for blue bloods of a higher color. Some debated that her blood was blue, just lighter, and others claimed she must have bribed the board. Either way, the news had shaken Alternia in a variety of unexpected ways. Many people, if not all, had heard the news only hours after it happened, but a day or so later it was no longer on their minds.

It did continue pressing on others minds though. One such mind was that of The Grand Highbloods. Being the leader of the Subjugglators meant that he and his men had to keep the low bloods under control, by whatever means they found fit. What was different about the Subjugglators and legislacerators was the fact they could attack, kill, and report. While the legislacerators had to report, attack, capture, and bring the criminal to justice if they were not killed first. Because of this times would come where the two forces would clash over which got control of the accused.

So the news of a new legislacerator to deal with did not please The Grand Highblood one bit; especially one whose blood was such an ugly teal color.

The day The Grand Highblood met Neophyte Redglare was just like any normal day in the Royal City, everyone went about their normal business. It was a week after she had been appointed and the news and controversy and had simmered down completely. She had met with everyone, even the Empress, by then and now was just awaiting a case to be assigned. Knowing it would not come in for a while she strolled around the courtyard, looking at not only the gardening but the buildings around her. Behind her was the main justice building where legislacerators and judges worked, to her left was the pier where ships would dock in, usually bringing new goods (food, weapons, prisoners and slaves, etc.) to trade in the nearby city, and to her right was a large tent shaped building. That was obviously where those psychotic, religious clowns that called themselves Subjugglators met. She paused her steps to gaze more carefully at that building. It was in the shape of a circus tent (no surprise there), and unlike the other areas in this courtyard it was brightly colored (also not a surprise). Why it was that way she had no idea, it made the building a much too open for an aerial attack. She may have not known everything about the Subjugglators but she knew enough. She knew of their violent and cult like nature, and she knew of their less than graceful ways of disposing of prisoners.

As her eyes looked over the building she noticed a door on the side of it. Curiosity got the best of her and looking around to make sure no eyes were on her she headed towards that door. Once in front of it she took some more time to just inspect it. Its paint was dulled and there were noticeable claw marks around the handle. Reaching out with a gloved hand she traced one particular mark on the door, a long deep gash that went straight down the center. Once she was done examining that one she moved onto the next largest one and the next down until she had finished inspecting all of them. Why she wasted so much time doing that she didn't know, but something about that door was bothering her. And when something bothered her she got to the bottom of it; just another skill that came in handy being a legislacerator. Now her brain was working, churning away to think of how the door got clawed and why. She got distracted, lost in her own thoughts while trying to solve this mystery.

So when the door was thrown open she had little time to react before a clawed hand grabbed the front of her outfit, yanking her upwards. Other than the small gasp that was let out she attempted to control her shock and surprise, and tried to remain calm. There were three possibilities at that moment. The most likely one was she had been captured by a Subjugglator and was about to get mauled for coming close to their building, the second being the Subjugglator tells her to fuck off and leaves, or lastly it's not even a Subjugglator just some pissed off troll. She prayed it was the second option.

"Well? Too scared to look me in the fucking eyes lowblood?" Since when had she gotten that close to the trolls face? Glancing up she was met with the sight of bared teeth, slightly yellowed, wild hair, and equally wild eyes. His hot breath made the air uncomfortably stuffy and she didn't even try to hide her disgust, leaning back and away from him as much as she could. One thing that was for sure about these Subjugglator folks was they didn't know how to take care of themselves. This one looked as if he had just come back from an assignment, smelled like it too.

"I'm talking to you!" Still grasping onto the front of her clothes he shook her, causing her head to snap back and forth—that was going to hurt for a few days.

"I heard you the first time," lifting her already aching neck up to look at him her cool demeanor returned, "I was just simply too busy in my own thoughts to reply."

Whatever emotion that had resided on the Subjugglators face before disappeared, and was quickly replaced by furry. How dare someone of her status talk back to him?

"What did you say?" When she yet again didn't reply he snarled, baring his yellowed teeth.

"You know what? I think you need a lesson in proper etiquette. First," he shoved his free hand in her face, holding one clawed finger up, "when a highblood is talking to you, you fucking speak. Got it, bitch?"

"Oh, I already knew that, I just do not. . . Consider you a highblood. I mean, you are currently not acting like the 'noble' highblood you claim you are." You could hear the sneer in her voice from miles away.

"You know what; fuck this. Why should I teach you when I can show you?" The Subjugglator growled his words out, and out of the corner of her eye Redglare saw his hand go up and back.

Even a young grub could figure out what was going to happen next. Most would have just accepted the beating and run off afterwards, but she wasn't like most trolls. Unfortunately her dragon head cane had been knocked out of her hands when she was pulled up. While she didn't only rely on that cane it was a nice advantage to have; for now the old fashion way would have to do.

She took no time in swinging one leg back and launching it forward right into the Subjugglators knee. With a shout of pain his grip on her tightened—and for a moment she couldn't breath—before it loosened enough for her to slip out of. Before she even hit the ground Redglare had grabbed ahold of her cane and unsheathed the blade hidden in it, and turned to hold it square in the center of his chest.

"Now, what was it you were saying about teaching me some manners?" Even though her glasses did a good job of hiding her eyes from the world you could just tell she was leering at him from behind them. Her voice had lost its teasing tone and now her words were almost being hissed. It was as if she was a different person.

When the Subjugglator didn't reply she pressed the blade into his chest a little, putting enough pressure on it for him to feel it but not to cut skin. "I expect a reply from people I am speaking to." She hissed out again, baring her own sharp, shark like teeth.

"And I expect legislacerators to leave my men the fuck alone." A third voice joined them now, another Subjugglator. Redglare didn't seem fazed at this new voice's words, but the first Subjugglator on the other hand seemed to freeze in place.

"Highblood, sir, I was guarding the door and head a disturbance and decided to check it. . ."

Highblood? There was only one troll in all of Alternia who went by the title, 'Highblood' and it just so happened that he was the leader of the Subjugglators; great.

Finally looking up and over her glasses, which had slid lower onto her nose, Redglare saw that her assumption had been correct. She had just about killed a Subjugglator in front of the leader of the Subjugglators. Now that her mind was clear of that overwhelming urge to harm and 'serve justice' she realized just how much trouble she could be in. She had only been assigned for a week and she was already causing disturbances.

With a small frown she slowly pulled her blade away from the Subjugglators chest, quickly placing it back in its sheath. Clearing her throat she straightened up, resuming a casual pose as if nothing had happened at all. Leaning an arm on the head of her cane she fixed her glasses and turned her attention to the two Subjugglators arguing at the front of the door.

"Well I'm pretty damned pleased you were doing your job correctly, but why are you wasting time talking with her? Next time just get rid of them! I don't have the time for you shenanigans dammit."

"I was going to take care of her! She caught me off guard but I was about to—"

"I DON'T CARE!"

She could walk away right now. She could slip away and not worry about being caught or getting hurt. But something glued Redglare to that spot. Maybe it was their heated argument that made her stay, but more than likely it was her own curiosity yet again. She wanted to see firsthand what would happen when a Subjugglator disobeyed their leader.

But now that she had a chance to look at them both close up without her life being in danger she took the chance to make mental notes. It was easy to tell who The Grand Highblood was and who wasn't. While the lower Subjugglator wore a plain black and purple outfit, the Highbloods was much fancier. He wore a sleeveless black shirt, with purple stripes going across it. Where his sleeves would usually reside there were large cuffs that reached up to his elbow, similarly designed with purple stripes. He had black pants adorned with purple circles in various sizes. And above that he wore what looked like his underwear (a questionable choice of words—but it did look like that!), his sign in sewed in the middle in bright purple.

Even though his outfit caught the eye, the thing Redglare found most curious was his face paint. It looked as if he had applied it, got frustrated and smudged it into some weird pattern. Almost like a skull. It was hard to tell when most of his face was covered by the mass of wild black hair.

"And you! What the hell are you looking at?" It took a moment before she realized he was speaking to her, and not the other Subjugglator—who had disappeared inside moments before.

"Nothing in particular; just admiring the scenery."

"Admire the damn scenery somewhere else, you're lucky I don't kill you right here, right now."

"What is stopping you? I know you are more than capable of it, oh great Highblood sir. You can have me killed on this very spot and they would make no deal of it, poof, just another teal blood troll gone. No one would even mourn me; I would be nothing more than a memory within days, minutes tops."

That made the giant troll pause and look down at her. She saw then that his eyes looked almost as wild as his hair. She felt slight unease when he looked her over, taking in every detail of her being. When he finally did reply it was still in that angry growl but more controlled.

"You must be that new legislacerator everyone is making a damn fuss about. Redglare, or whatever the fuck it was."

"I am so honored someone of your rank remembered my name!" She grinned up and him and started laughing, which sounded more like cackling.

"Shut up!"

Slowly but steadily she controlled herself, cackling coming down to a few low chuckles. "I am sorry, it is just I have never had such an honor as this before. Even the Empress did not care to remember my name for more than a minute!"

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" How could someone like . . . that make it as a legislacerator? Just her voice, high with a gravelly undertone to it, was making his head hurt. "I find it hard to believe that someone who cannot even follow such simple commands became a legislacerator."

"Well, sometimes you need to break a few rules to become the best at something."

"Are you trying to suggest you're the best at this? The best at annoying people until they confess their stupid little sins? And what, after they confess are you the best at hanging them? At executing them? Just because you break a few rules doesn't guarantee success. In fact, more than half the time breaking the rules ends in death."

His little rant had left her a bit speechless, a rare occurrence. She could see his point and what was worse was it made her scared. Not overly so, but deep inside she could feel a little bubble of fear. Fear of death, failure, losing her lifelong dream before it even started. She had trained herself to not be afraid, to not show fear. Fear was a legislacerators enemy, only seconded to doubt.

"W- Ahem. While that may be true I can assure you that my breaking of the rules will not end in death. I am sure of it."

"Someone who is so sure of themselves wouldn't have hesitated in answering."

After that all that happened between them was silence. A deafening, heavy silence. Neither of them moved a muscle or said anything. He continued to stare at her with his angry eyes and she continued to stare at him from behind her glasses, desperately attempting to keep up the poker face she worked so hard on. Things were being passed between them at that moment though none of it was spoken. He could see the fear behind her poker face, and similarly she could see the pride that was hidden behind his angry features.

The next one to speak was The Grand Highblood.

"Now that we've established what a weak pitiful grub you are go on. Run back to your little court building, if I see you near here again I won't hesitate in ripping you apart and painting the walls with your blood." Turning his back he started walking away from her, going to the side door to go back inside and presumably beat the other Subjugglator.

"It was lovely meeting you as well, Mr. Highblood."

"Go."When he turned she saw him edging into his real personality, the one that made him the esteemed leader of the violent cult. She no longer saw plain annoyance in his eyes; instead she saw his want for blood to be spilled. His voice had dropped even lower—which she once thought impossible—and he sounded possessed. It made that small bubble of fear in her chest expand a little more.

She didn't have to be told twice.

Not replying this time she turned on her heel, picked up her cane, put it over her shoulder, and walked away. She would be lying if she said that experience hadn't bothered her. It was as if he knew exactly what to say, like he could read her mind and pick out what her weak spots were. Prod at them, edging her on and on until she lost her cool. . .

It made her paranoid, was she that easy to read? If so then she wasn't fit to be a legislacerator. The mere thought of giving up on her dream hurt her much more than she would ever reveal.

She kept walking back towards the main building, and didn't turn around when she heard a door slam behind her.


	2. Chapter 2

The Grand Highblood liked to think of himself as a man loyal to his word. If he promised you something—whether it be a reward or a slow painful death—chances were likely you would receive it in the end.  
And nobody ever got the best of him. Nobody.  
. . .  
“Get ready boys, we’re heading out to the eastern towns today. Some shit head rust blood is riling up the towns people again.”  
He turned his back to the 5 Subjugglators kneeling before him and left the room, heading for his own office. One could hardly call it an office though, it was anything but. He did do business in there but not the kind you would want to find yourself on the receiving end of. Entering the room he took a moment to appreciate the walls, painted with multiple colors of his victims. Oh how he remembered each on so dearly.  
But he couldn’t waste much time, he wanted this rust blood now. Striding over to his chair he reached behind it and grabbed the handle of his favorite white, spiked club. Would you look at that, it still has some of that one girls lime blood on it! Such a pity she had to go and be rebellious, she seemed oh so nice…  
Fastening the club across his back he headed out into the main room again, and grinned upon seeing his 5 men already prepared to leave. Maybe if this excursion went smoothly they would all return in time to have some fun with the prisoner.  
Signaling it was time to go head opened the door and went out, not bothering to hold it open for the others. They were well trained enough; they could probably handle this mission themselves. But the Empress had requested specifically he go with them. Apparently this required some of the best men on the job; and who better to do the job than the actual leader of the group.  
It would take them about 2 hours to arrive to the eastern towns, 3 if something (or someone) slowed them down.  
While walking the Grand Highblood reviewed the orders from the Empress in his head. He’d been called in a day before, and upon entering the room he found her in a state of unrest. She had paced back and forth many times before finally turning to him and grinding out how a rust blood had started causing trouble in the towns to the east. Why does it upset you so much? He had asked her. She answered with a glare and bared teeth. She told him about how this rust blood seemed to be following in the footsteps of that rebel they had put down so many sweeps ago, the one that had gone by ‘Signless.’ He hadn’t been necessarily surprised—many had tried preaching the same as he had once done but with little success—but when he heard about how there was a plan to actually try a rebellion he understood. This rust blood needed to be stopped now, lest they have another incident like before on their hands. She wanted him to go into those towns and crush that mock rebellion before it even got past the planning boards. And he was more than happy to agree to do such.  
“Stop slacking off!” He snapped at the men falling behind him. They replied with a simple yes sir, and sped up their steps. He was determined to get this task done with, and then the Empress could return to her calm and collected state. He was mostly doing this to please her but as he hadn’t gone out on many missions lately it was a nice change. Actually—maybe he could have fun with this one. Just like he had with the lime blood.  
. . .  
Screams filled the air, laughter mixing in between. They had reached the town a few minutes ago and as soon as the first troll saw them all hell had broken loose. All together there were six of them, three taking each side of the town. In all reality it was more than enough; two men could have taken this mission themselves. The Grand Highblood was on the right side looking for the rust blood. From the details and gossip he had picked up this troll was a short male with curving horns and wavy hair to his shoulders. His eyes searched the crowd, looking for a troll with those features; anyone who got in his way was promptly thrown or swatted away with either his club or his hand. It was at times like this you could how he hardly regarded anyone very below him. He didn’t care about the woman running away nor did he care about the young children attempting to run home to their lusii. All this was about was the mission. Find the rust blood and capture him. If he tries something, kill him.  
Finally after minutes of screaming and crying he saw what he had come for. There—right in front of him stood the rust blood, wearing his sign (a symbol that curved almost like his horns) and a necklace. The necklace caught the Highbloods eye for a moment. It looked strangely familiar, but he had never met a troll with that sign. Oh well, fashion isn’t what he was here for.  
“Well, well, well…” looking down at the rust blood he watched as the other troll shook with fear. That seemed to be a common theme with his victims. They shook when he looked down at him, a majority with fear and a select few with from anger. Then he tried to run.  
Whatever joking (however cruel of a joke it may have been) nature the highblood had at that moment was gone. Another similarity between his victims; they always tried to run. It pissed him off to no end. Didn’t they know that’s not what you do? When you’re in the presence of a highblood, you better fucking kneel.  
With a snarl The Grand Highblood started after his target, club in hand. Because of the height and build difference it only took him a few paces before he caught up with the rebel. First he slapped him, making sure to let his claws drag across his skin. In response he got a pain filled cry, and the rebel stumbled to the ground, half of his face dripping with his rust colored blood. He could see in his eyes how he was trying to be brave and hold his ground, but it was quickly failing. He had come this far, he wasn’t going to let him get away easily; so before the other could attempt another escape The Grand Highblood grabbed him by the back of his clothes, yanking him down to the ground where his head made a sharp contact with the pavement.  
He stopped moving then.  
. . .  
When the prisoner came to he found himself in a dark, stale room. Already he was starting to hyperventilate with fear, the musty air of the room not helping him at all. His yellow eyes darted around the room, searching, praying for some hint of where he was. He could hear blood pounding in his ears and his head was throbbing like mad. Never before had he felt so scared, so vulnerable, not even when he had first started following in the Sufferer’s footsteps and preaching equality.  
A dull thud made him snap out of his thoughts. The room was still dark but the feeling had changed. Now he felt a weight on his chest and he didn’t have to call out to know that someone else was in the room with him.  
But who?  
“Boo.”  
He screamed, the dangerous sounding voice had come from right beside him! But—when he looked there was no one. This made him shiver, and only then did he notice his lack of clothes. And his restraints. What in the world was going on? His head hurt, he had cuffs around his wrists and ankles, and he was stripped down to only his underwear.  
The voice returned after what seemed like years. “You think you can go all up and motherfucking disrespect the Empress, bro? You think you can just run around out there creating havoc for not only yourself but the higher bloods?” When he didn’t reply the unknown voice continued in a mock tone, “this is the part where you say, ‘Oh Grand Highblood I’m so fucking sorry! I don’t know what I was doing acting like rules is a foreign concept to me. Oh please forgive me!’”  
Grand Highblood?—Oh. And like a flash it all came back to him. He had followed the Sufferer’s steps and preached equality, he had been warned by others how dangerous it was but he didn’t listen, and on the way to a meeting he was holding the Subjugglators attacked and captured him but not before raiding the town.  
“O-Oh god…”  
“That’s what I thought.”  
And then the cutting started. It didn’t hurt at first—just feeling like someone was rubbing a dull butter knife into his skin—but after more pressure was applied it started to sting. It was like his captor knew when he was in pain, because soon more pressure was added and the cutting sped up. He cried out when he felt it break his skin. Luckily after that it stopped, and he was left with a bleeding thigh.  
“You know… I have a lot of fucking time on my hands. I usually sit around commanding my boys and all that shit, but, it’s been so long since I’ve gotten a new toy to play with.” On the last part of the sentence the voice lowered to an almost murmur but that didn’t trick him; he could still hear the killer intent behind it.  
Then the cutting started again. Every time he refused to cry out it became more frequent, and soon he has shallow gashes all across his body. His lip was bleeding in multiple places as well (he had bitten down on it so he wouldn’t scream out in pain).  
Every nerve on his body was at attention. The slightest touch could make him scream. And once again, as if he could read his mind, his captor started doing just that. The touches were not teasing nor were they soft. Could you even call them touches? They felt more like slaps. A hand pressed here, claws pressing into his side there, but the most painful thing was he couldn’t see still. This whole time the room remained dark. For some reason this made the pain hurt worse, and soon enough red tears started trailing his cheeks.  
“Now—ready to tell me why you thought it would be such a wonderful idea to go against the Empress?”  
“I—We—I’m not going against her.” He finally rushed out.  
“Really. Because I’m pretty sure planning to go against law and tradition is treason. Which, if your low blood brain doesn’t know the definition of, is going against something or someone.”  
“I just didn’t like the way things were done ok!”  
“You’re nothing like him. Stop trying to be.” Now the voice seemed farther away, as if moving to get something. When it spoke again it was back to where it used to be. “Everyone all ups and motherfucking thinks they can be like that bitch was. All preaching equality and shit. But they always fail and you want to know why?”  
“…”  
“I said, do you want to know why?”  
He squeaked a little, and nodded even though he wasn’t sure the other could see him. “S-sure.”  
“You’re not as motivated. You didn’t see what he apparently ‘saw’. What you see is simply being treated fairly. That’s the difference between you and that Signless bitch.”  
The room went silent after that. For a moment the rebel thought he had fallen asleep again, but the feeling of dried blood on him proved that thought false. He was so tired, though. He body ached from the hundreds of small cuts and he felt limp. Letting his head loll down he silently cursed everyone and everything.  
“You’re not a fun toy. I thought you’d be pretty fucking fun, considering how determined you seemed back in that town, but guess I was wrong. Shame.” He heard the scrapping noise of a chair being pushed back—when had a chair been put in front of him?—and then he felt the feeling of clawed hands wrapping around his neck. Nothing was gentle or slow anymore. He felt his air getting cut off and he felt the metal of the cuffs dig into his raw wrists and ankles as he struggled and kicked at where he thought the other person to be. Within seconds things seemed to be getting fuzzy, everything was getting blurry and the pounding in his ears was at a new high.  
Then he felt nothing.  
“God dammit Highblood, you weren’t supposed to kill him.” The light flickered on and revealed a room with heavily bloodied walls. And there in the doorway stood everything the Grand Highblood hated in a troll—Redglare.


	3. Chapter 3

. . .  
“God dammit Highblood, you weren’t supposed to kill him.” The light flickered on, there in the doorway stood Redglare, looking pissed as ever.  
“I don’t care.” And he didn’t. Why should he care? To him it was just another death, another broken toy. Taking his eyes off of the rust blood’s body he turned to face Redglare, not hiding his annoyance. “What are you even doing here anyway? I don’t believe I told my men to let a bitch of a teal blood into my office.”  
She brushed off the insult like it was dust, “You were not supposed to kill him. He was committing treason, it was my job to try him and execute him.”  
“Well look on the bright side; I took care of the execution part.” Wiping his bloody hand on the back of his pants he only looked at her for another second before moving forward to leave the room. But she stood her ground.  
“How many damn times must I say it? He was my case, my prisoner to handle. Next time the most you can do is warn me when you feel like taking one of my captures and using them as a ‘toy.’” Through her red glasses she glared up at him, holding back anymore words. She didn’t trust herself to say more, if she did she just might slip up and go too far; then she would join that rebel on his wall.  
She was like an ant compared to him. He was strong, heavy, and tall whereas she was small, thin, and light. He could easily crush her right now. Wring her neck maybe or just toy with her until she gives out. But he’d had enough fun for today. He ignored her words just as much as she had ignored his. “Get out of my way.”  
“I want you to answer me.”  
“Answer you what? I see your motherfucking lips moving but I ain’t paying any attention. No need to.”  
She sighed. “You’re impossible. I don’t see how someone like you became the leader of such a thing.”  
“Me being leader of the Subjugglators makes more sense than you being a legislacerator.”  
“Does it now?”  
“Yup.”  
He didn’t look directly at her. Instead he opted to look around her. That wall behind her was pretty interesting actually.   
It was a few minutes before she spoke again, her high and annoying voice cutting through any silence there was.  
“You know it is my job to try them, Highblood.”  
“And you know it’s my job to keep them in-check and under control.”  
“Still. That does not change the fact you were out of line to go out and—“  
“I know!” He exclaimed with an exasperated sigh, “I fucking know already because you keep fucking telling me every fucking chance you get. But just remember this neophyte,” he met her gaze again and this time kept it, “compared to me you are a lowblood. If I desired to I could do to you what I did to the bitch back there—hell I could do worse. And nobody would give two shits.”  
For once she was startled. She knew he was the type to do that with no regrets and she was already well aware of how the other officials disliked her, but hearing him actually say it made her freeze. It only happened with him and no one else. Hell the Empress could say something like that to her and she wouldn’t bat an eyelash, but whenever he threatened her something in her gut stirred. She wasn’t afraid, just uneasy. The feeling of being scared or worried was foreign to her. She had trained herself to ignore those feelings, as a legislacerator should.  
“You know they would never allow even you to kill someone like me so easily.” She was happy to hear her voice come out evenly, not revealing any tattle tell emotion. Another important skill of being a legislacerator.  
He looked unimpressed, and huffed before turning his nose up at her and grinning slowly. “Well, then. Why don’t you try me?”  
“For a clown you are not very funny.”  
“For someone who has a dragon for a lusus you’re not very threatening.”  
“We can continue going back and forth and end up nowhere, or we can discussed this like civil trolls and get it done with.”  
“I’m not doing anything wrong, you’ve seem to forgotten this is my building.”  
“Oh—fuck this.” She bared her teeth in a small growl, pushing past him so the doorway was free, “you are obviously not going to listen to me. So let me just say it once more, he was my case. Next time do not mess with my business.”  
From the way she had straightened up her stance he knew he’d won yet again. Thank god, he just wanted to go rest for the remainder of the day but no—instead he had to deal with her. Though she was annoying something about her interested him. He couldn’t put his finger on it—was it the way she held herself so high? Or was it the way she treated him like he was some piss blood troll. Something about her was off, and that bothered him. But hey, now he was in charge here. He was the one at the door and he could easily lock her in here and save her for later.   
“Let me ask you something, neophyte.”  
Still in her defensive stance she raised an eyebrow, letting out a small groan, “what is it now?”  
“Why do you wear that?”  
The question surprised her greatly. Why did she wear what she wore? What kind of a question was that? “I do not believe I understand the question.”  
“The red. Why do you wear it? To add to the whole, ‘Redglare’ effect? Or is there some other reason. Someone of your rank should always have their blood color visible at all times, it’s law. So why wear all that bright red; one would think you’re a mutant.” As he spoke he looked her up and down, taking in every little detail about her. The sharp horns, the annoyingly red glasses and clothes, and for the first time he noticed what looked to be a chain around her neck; a very familiar looking chain.   
When his eyes narrowed she could feel him criticizing her. His gaze was powerful and it made her so uncomfortable. “My outfit would not look as good if it was all black and teal, now would it? The red goes well.”  
“You can always alter the outfit then. Your choice of attire is worrying to say the least, especially that chain you seem to be trying to hide from me.”  
Shit, when had he noticed that? It was enough of a risk to own it, let alone wear it in public, and the fact he had seen it didn’t ease her nerves.  
“I am hiding nothing, it is a simple chain necklace.”  
“Then let me see it.”  
“No.”  
“Why not?”  
“I do not feel like taking it off.”  
For someone of his size he moved quickly, and before she even registered what was happening a sharp pain was at the back of her neck, then a loud crack! She heard links hit the floor and saw the chain glint in the light before it was swallowed by the Highblood’s hand.  
“Hehe, doesn’t feel like a simple chain.”  
For once she stayed silent, fearing for her life now more than ever. Everything was going much to slow for her, if he was going to kill her when he saw the necklace he should make it quick; the suspense was killing her. She watched as he opened his hand and inspected the accessory, she saw how now that he had laid his eyes on the little charm at the front of it they narrowed into dangerous slits. It only took him a moment to put two and two together.  
“So; you follow his ideals huh? How strange, for someone who captures and kills people for committing treason--among other things--you believe in a traitors beliefs. Why is that so? You see day after day how many are killed for that ‘everyone needs to be treated equal’ bullshit.”  
“I do not need to explain myself to you.”  
“No, you don’t.” His tone of voice betrayed his words—it was obvious he was still curious. What his plans where she had no idea, all she knew was that being around him now was going to become even more dangerous than it was before. With this piece of information about her he could easily blackmail her, or have her fired. She had worked her whole life to get this far, she wasn’t about to go down without a fight.   
She snapped out of her thoughts when he tossed the chain at her face, not warning her at all. She caught it, but just barely.   
“Now get going, I have business to attend to.”  
She didn’t reply, instead shoving the chain in her pocket and straightening up.   
If she was going to leave after a stunt like that, at least it would be with her head held high.  
. . .  
It was a few days before Highblood could report his findings to the Empress. She had been so busy as of late—doing what no one exactly knew—so he went to visit her the first moment he heard she was free. Entering her throne room he did what anybody who was lower than her was expected to do; he walked 10 paces in before setting one knee down and bowing his head. And now he would wait until she gave him the sign to get up and start speaking. You could never be too formal in front of the Empress.  
“You can rise, Highblood. You know you don’t need to do what the lowbloods do.”  
Grinning he pushed himself up, but not before bowing one last time. Though he was being formal it was a bit of a game between them. He had always been her right hand man, so he was permitted special privileges, though he rarely used them. “You seem to be in a fine mood.”  
“For now—the old bitch got her food, so she’s quiet for now. What happened on that mission I assigned you?” Her expression darkened considerably, having to deal with the constant possibility of revolution got tiring after the first week.   
“He’s taken care of; I gave the body to the blue bloods to deal with. But that’s not what I came to talk with you about, though the subject matter is similar.”  
“That’s good to hear. Now, what information could you possibly give me that I do not already know?”  
“I probably couldn’t say much that you already know. But it’s about that legislacerator you assigned half a sweep ago. I don’t think she can be trusted.”  
She raised an eyebrow, signaling him to go on.   
“I thought it was odd enough she worse such bright red, but when I found this out it proved my suspicions true.”  
“Spit it out already, Highblood. You may be a friend but I am a busy woman, as I’m sure you know.”  
“Yes ma’am. I’m here to tell you that Neophyte Redglare shouldn’t be trusted. Not only does she wear the symbol of the Signless but she wears his color as well. I believe she may share his ideas, or she fancied him. Either way, I don’t trust her.”  
Rising out of her throne The Condesce walked to one of the many windows looking down at the Royal City. “Hmmm... For what I’ve heard she has a good track record. But you’re not the first to complain. Many of the others don’t like her tricky ways, and while I for one can admire them, I don’t want a possible traitor in this city, let alone working for me.”  
“So what do you want us to do?”  
“Leave that up to me, I’m sure we can come up with something that will put her skills to the test.”


	4. Chapter 4

After the confrontation with The Grand Highblood Redglare was the definition of paranoid, though she didn’t show it up front. She was still stubborn as ever, wearing her teal and red outfit (complete with the chain, still hidden) with pride. But from then on she didn’t trust others with personal information, even simple things like what her lusus was. She hadn’t shared much of her personal life in the first place, but now any questions where shot down instantly.   
This just made the other legislacerators even more infuriated with her. Already she was trying to make a name for herself—gloating about how she would become the greatest legislacerator in all of Alternia history—and she was still so inexperienced. So far her case load had only been light cases, robbers that tried to hide, fraud cases and the like. Even though she had passed the tests with flying colors she still didn’t know anything about being a legislacerator. She didn’t have the scars and memories the others had, and if it was up to them they’d be the ones to give her those scars. But causing a worthless fight would get them expelled from the force so nothing could be done about her.   
Or so it had seemed.  
. . .   
“We have a new assignment for you Neophyte.”  
“Does nobody realize I have a name?”  
“Shut up and listen; for this is a case of the utter-most importance. You’ve heard of Spinneret Mindfang, have you not?”  
It was a foolish question; a task of all good legislacerators was to review all the ‘wanted’ files in case they are called to go get one. “Marquise Spinneret Mindfang; pirate and leader of a gang of Ganmblignants; went rouge from the moment she learned to sail. She has no current relationship as far we know, though she had an apparent kismesissitude with Orphaner Dualscar the status of that relationship is unknown at this time.”  
“Good job, it’s good to see you know her.”  
“So I am going be sent to get her?”  
“Not if you keep interrupting me.”  
“My apologizes.”  
“Your case is to go find her and bring her in for trial. She’s set to be hanged once captured, with an $80,000 reward on her head.”  
“Yes sir.”  
“The case files will be on your desk. Goodbye.”  
That night Redglare stayed up until the early hours of the morning reviewing case files and looking for any information on Mindfang she could get her hands on. From what she read she put together a theory.  
“Mindfang and Dualscar where kismesis, correct? From what I’ve found he’s the one who placed such a large bounty on her head. I believe the two of them had a falling out and he’s out for revenge. Though… she obviously does not care, as recent sightings claim she’s still in the old area they used to use as a base. The latest sighting said she was near the northern shore, so I’ll be heading there in the next day.” She felt ready to take on a case this large, Mindfang was a renowned pirate, and this just may the case that will make or break her career. After leaving the justice building and getting home on Pyralspite she made sure to get everything prepared for the next morning; she had a feeling it would be a long one.  
. . .  
Once again The Grand Highblood found himself in the presence of Her Imperious Condescension.  
“That was pretty quick; I didn’t think you could find such a hard case in such short notice, Condesce.”  
Chuckling lightly The Condesce turned to face her friend. “You have helped me a many times before, so I thought I could pay you back. Just this once of course.”  
“Of course.”  
“Now, about this Redglare of yours, the case I assigned her may be difficult—Mindfang is quite a thorn in the side after all—but it’s not the toughest available right now. I can’t just go around giving the least experienced legislacerator the highest priority case, now can I? Hopefully this will at least scare her.”  
The Grand Highblood laughed at that, a full, out loud laugh. That made her raise an eyebrow and wonder what was going on through that mad head of his. His laughing continued on for what seemed like forever, before slowly dying down into little chuckles racking his body. “Scare her? If I wanted her scared I’d just keep visiting her. This mission better motherfucking kill her.”  
“Remember your place Highblood.”  
“Sorry. Just know, if this mission doesn’t take care of that brat, I will.”  
“And that’s perfectly fine with me.”


	5. Chapter 5

For someone who primarily lived at sea, Mindfang heard the latest news almost as soon as it happened. She had contacts in the city and on the sea; pretty much everywhere and anywhere she could reach. Some days it came in handy, other days she wondered why she wasted so much money for just a few green bloods to tell her the most recent happenings.

Tonight just happened to be one of those days where she considered offing the green bloods, there would be no arguments and no one would be able to give her location out to others, but most importantly, she’d be saving money. Oh money, it made the world go round, you know? That night she was in her office, commonly referred to on the ship as the captain’s courters, examining some maps. The current one showed the different levels and areas of the northern sea, where she currently resided. She had come here in hopes of treasure (actually she came here because someone challenged her to find treasure here; when everyone knew there was no treasure. There was nowhere to hide it, no rocks and the water was too shallow. Even a non-seadwelling troll could get it.) but so far no luck. Which was stupid, she always was lucky. Her head had just started pounding when there was a knock at the door.

“What is it! Come in, dammit.” Thrusting the useless map back on her desk she groaned out, rubbing at her temple. She opened an eye when the door creaked open, and one of her many messengers shuffled in. When she didn’t say anything at first the pounding in her head increased, “Do you have something to tell me or not? I’m a very busy lady you know!”

“I thought you would like to know, someone is going after the bounty on your head again.” If Mindfang had to choose a favorite messenger, this green blood would be the one. She knew her place, and came on time and brought the best news.

Mindfang waved the news away, many had gone after her but none ever succeeded. She could only recall actually being captured once, and even then her men had killed them and rescued her (that night she let them roll the dice and see what challenge to take on next). “It won’t work. I’m too awesome to get captured.”

“Well, I’m just warning you like it’s my job to do. This time they say it’s a legislacerator coming.”

That perked her interest. A legislacerator, such corrupt people; killing and maiming in the name of ‘justice.’ At least when she did it, it was with a good reason. Not some stupid belief, as far as she was concerned they were as bad as those Subjugglators. “Do you know which legislacerator?”

“She’s still a newbie, but people say the name she goes by is Redglare.”

This time Mindfang outright snorted. “Redglare? Oh yeah, I’m tooooooootally going to get caught. Maybe she’ll blind me!”

The messenger smiled quickly, but didn’t laugh with her. “I don’t know her skill level or set, but be wary. If she’s a legislacerator she must be at least somewhat skilled.”

“Yeah, yeah, thank you for doing your job,” reaching under her desk she picked out five gold coins and sat up, tossing them to her, “here’s your payment. You can go now.”

The girl bowed, taking the coins and placing them in her pouch in a calm manner (much unlike the others). She didn’t take her time leaving, as quick as the wind she was gone.

As much as she hated paying messengers Mindfang had to thank this green blood later. If it wasn’t for her the ships would have been attacked without any warning. Now they had time to prepare.

Standing up she walked to the open door to her courters, and stuck her head out on the deck.

_“Everyone in the courters now!_ Except for you, up there in the crows nest! Signal the other ships to prepare for battle!”

By early morning all of her ships where prepared for the coming attack. Honestly, how did one little legislacerator expect to take down her fleet of ships? Even if she defeated Mindfang she had hundreds of crew men and woman ready to slit this Redglare’s throat.

. . .

Redglare could hear her blood pounding in her ears, she could taste the salty air even when up so high, and she could feel the eyes of the town beneath her on Pyralspite and herself. When she informed the other legislacerators she would be taking her lusus a few of the older ones had laughed at her. Her lusus would die, get killed in the battle they said.

They had shut up when she summoned Pyralspite to the courtyard.

And now here she was, soaring through the air on her dragons back and looking below for sight of the ships. She had a collected face on and in her head she was running through all the information she had on Mindfang for the hundredth time. Nothing could go wrong, nothing would go wrong.

When she saw ships on the horizon she split a smirk. It was time to for some fun.

“Pyralspite; go down!” On command the giant dragon swooped down and stopped till they were hovering just above the ships. “Circle.” Pyralspite kept low, almost touching the ships but not quite, and started circling them. Redglare already heard the screams of crew members who saw Pyralspite. She liked that reaction and wanted to hear more screams, but first she needed to locate the target. On the third circling (Pyralspite had started screeching, adding to the scare factor) she saw her. Fangs, crazy hair, and a blue and black coat; Mindfang.

Now the real fun could begin.

She was surprised to see that none of the ships had started attacking yet, the crew was hysteric. She only needed Mindfang; the others were just people that where getting in her way. Pyralspite seemed to sense this, and before the ships knew what hit them, they all were on fire. Mindfang watched with horror and shock as a majority of her fleet went down without even a struggle, a few sailors going over the side to try to escape the flames. That damn woman! Looking up she found herself staring right into the bright red eyes of the dragon and for a moment she was unable to move. A stinging sensation started in her right eye, the one with the vision eight-fold, and soon she couldn’t feel it or see anything at all. Redglare took this chance to injury her. Sliding off Pyralspite she unsheathed her cane, and swung around to get Mindfang in the back. Even with her burned eye Mindfang saw the glint of the cane and was able to doge it in time, but it still put a deep gash in her arm.

“You bitch!” She grabbed the nearest crew member and grabbed his short sword, turning to face off with Redglare. Now she couldn’t even feel her right arm, and when she glanced down with her only good eye she saw it cut almost all the way through. With a feral growl she launched forward, swinging the sword with a low stroke, hoping to cut Redglare behind the knees and maybe—just maybe—immobilize her so Mindfang could take her out. Luck choose not be on her side that day it seemed, the dice must have landed in the opponents favor. Where her sword should have landed there was nothing, and she felt another sharp pain in her cut arm. Crying out in pain she turned quickly and almost heaved when she saw her arm lying on the ground in front of her. Dropping the short sword her only arm went up and felt the air where an arm should have been. With a burned out eye and a cut off arm she was highly disadvantaged. Turning her gaze forward again she found herself staring into red again, but luckily this time it was only glasses. The bitch was grinning, shark sharp teeth glinting in the early morning light.

Mindfang had to hold herself back, she wanted to rip that shit eating grin right off Redglare’s face, but she knew that luck was not on her side today. She looked around, trying to find an escape route when she saw a single life boat that had survived the flames. Redglare followed her line of sight and took a quick step forward, pressing the blade of her weapon to Mindfang’s neck.

“One move and I’ll cut your throat.” For someone who looked like a joke (red and teal? Really?) she spoke with only a seriousness a legislacerator could manage.  No longer did she wear a stupid grin, instead her expression could only be described as one thing.

Crazy.

“You’re coming with me.” And Mindfang knew she had lost this time. She’d get out of this, she always did. For now though, she just spat in the other woman’s face and glared at her with as much hatred she could muster.


	6. Chapter 6

It would be a lie to say the flight back to the prison was uneventful.

 Redglare had captured criminals before but never before did she have a case of this priority. It made everything much more difficult. The fact that Mindfang still hadn’t stopped kicking was annoying her. She ignored again and again the curses and shouted death threats, and she ignored when the other woman tried to grab her but couldn’t as her hands were tied in front of her.

“Stop moving or I’ll kick you off to the town below and say you jumped.”

“If that’s the case I’ll jump right now!”

“Go ahead. They don’t care if you’re dead or alive, and neither do I.”

“Then why didn’t you kill me back on the ship?”

“Proof.”

“Proof?”

“Proof; that I’m a great and powerful legislacerator.”

“You’re not even powerful! Without this fucking dragon of yours you would be no match for me. You couldn’t hurt a fly, you have no power. Your only skill is tricking people.”

“Well it worked didn’t it?” When she looked back Mindfang could have sworn her red eyes were glowing, but she knew better. They were only glasses; they could do no harm to her like this stupid dragon had. The memory made her shudder, and a fresh wave of pain surged through her now useless eye.

“Now that you’ve finally shut up, hold on tight we’re about to go down.” She thought she was funny now didn’t she? Hold on when her hands were tied up?

Ha.

Ha.

 Mindfang was accustom to the rocking motion of the sea under ships and she had survived many bad storms, but flying miles above ground on the back of a giant dragon with no support whatsoever was a new and admittedly horrifying experience.

Not that she would ever admit that.

. . .

The inside of an Alternian jail cell was no new sight to Mindfang. She’d had her share of visits, either trapped herself or saving an idiot crew member of hers, but one thing remained the same throughout.

They smelled horrible.

They smelled of rotting bodies even if there were none (not saying that there haven’t been any before) and mildew. From the outside they seemed like normal cells; standard iron bars and the standard cramped spaces, but inside was a different story. From the inside you could see the evidence of just what happened in these cells.

Writing on the wall, logs written in blood of ones slow descent into insanity just by staying in here for too long, the beat up beds (not even a respite block was provided) and sheets torn in angry rampages. But she wasn’t about to add to the chaos of these cells. Instead she sat silently, planning her next moves. She would get out of here, even if she took more damage.

They had been nice enough to wrap loose bandages around her still bleeding arm—it was a wonder she hadn’t passed out from blood loss yet. Her eye was another story, by now she couldn’t feel anything expect a constant dull throbbing. Her hair was everywhere, windblown by flying on that stupid dragon, and blood—both her own and others—covered her jacket. She looked like a mess, and in ways she was one.

In less than 2 hours she had lost her whole fleet, there was no ship in sight that wasn’t burning when she last looked back, and in less than 2 hours she had been defeated by a neophyte legislacerator. It hurt her pride more than anything.

At least she still had her dice.

The sound of a door being thrown open interrupted her thoughts, and soon she found herself face to face with more red.

Red, red, red. That color was going to be the death of her.

Without looking up to meet Redglares face she spoke, “What the hell do you need?”

“I thought I’d just visit you before the trial. Which—by the way—is set for two days from now.”

“Do you do this to all your ‘clients’? Visit them before their deaths? How morbid.”

When the other woman didn’t reply Mindfang dared a glance up and found herself looking at—what a surprise—more red.

“What?” Still now reply. “ _What?!”_

“That’ll be all. Goodbye.” As suddenly as she came she left, closing the door with a resounding thud. For a while Mindfang just stared at the wall in front of her, replaying the conversation in her head.

Only when her neck started hurting did she lay down. But before she could go to sleep on the tough mattress, an idea crossed her mind. Grinning to herself, she fished in her pockets, and pulled out her trusty dice.

Maybe this time luck would be on her side.

. . .

When the news that Redglare had succeeded with no trouble reached the Highblood, he threw a fit.

“God _fucking_ dammit! How does someone so incompetent easily capture a high class pirate? This is an embarrassment!” Everyone stayed silent; it was the best to do when he got like this. His fellow Subjugglators watched as he stomped back and forth raging on about how he was going to take matters into his own hands now, since it was obvious nothing was going to get done otherwise. By the time he had started to calm down many had turned their eyes down, not wanting to see their beloved leader in such a state of distress.

“You,” he said to no one in particular, “what are The Condesce’s plans for today?”

At first no one replied, because no one knew. They were just regular Subjugglators; they didn’t have access to that information. Soon enough a voice spoke up, unsure of its self but loud enough to cover that unease up. “Sir, I believe she is in a meeting with the Violet bloods today.” Being the Empress meant she was almost always at meetings, it was a guess but a good one at that.

With a growl he started towards the door, muttering a “yeah, ok, good” before leaving and slamming it shut.

As soon the door shut a silent sigh of relief was let out among the remaining Subjugglators.

. . .

Far too soon the day of the trial came.


	7. Chapter 7

The day of the trial started like any other. Mindfang awoke to a cold cell, and spent most of her hours doing nothing. She wouldn’t admit it, but she was a bit scared. Nobody told her exactly when the trial would be and now she sat here in this old jail block waiting for the door to open, and for them to yank her out and send her to her judgment. She’d never been captured for more than a few days and the idea that this time no crew would be here to help her escape, and that her end was possibly just minutes away was mind boggling.

If she didn’t get out of here soon she was going to self-destruct.

Whether it was lucky or not the guards seemed to have heard her silent plea, and soon the sound of the cell door opening reached her ears. If this was going to be her end it then so be it. She had a fun life, if only it could have gone on longer. When her arms were grabbed and she was yanked up off the old bed she didn’t make a single noise. She just raised her head up and looked straight ahead, pasting a wide grin on her face that would make even a mad man shake in his boots.

Maybe it was because she was so unsure if she’d live to see another day but the hallway seemed unusually long; and the walk agonizingly slow.

“Here we are, have fun.” Mindfang keeps her eyes forwards but she can still hear the smirk in the guard’s voice. She’s shoved forward, and soon she finds herself in the middle of the “court.”

The area was large and had a lot of open area, with what looked to be a fiery pit in the middle. Behind the arena where the stands, in which hundreds of lowbloods stood. On one side stood Redglare, and on the other was where Mindfang stood.

“Am I being thrown into a pit? How boring.” As Mindfang spoke she swung her good arm towards the noose that was close by. “I thought I was being hanged. That’s much more entertaining, and we all know how much everyone loves a good show.” The crowd roared at that, cheering about how her judgment day had come. Redglare on the other hand ignored her words, and took a step forward.

“Marquise Spinneret Mindfang, you are here today to be hanged for the crimes you’ve committed against Alternia.” Mindfang could have rolled her eyes at that, there were other pirates out there, some admittedly worse than her. They just wanted to make a mockery of her death, the great pirate Mindfang put to death by some inexperienced teal blood. The story would be alive for ages.

That is of course if she actually did die today, which she wasn’t planning to. If they wanted a show, she was more than ready to give them a show.

“Tell me; what’s it like? Killing innocent trolls who have done nothing more than just spoke badly about the Empress. Is it satisfying; do you like having innocent blood on your hands? I bet some of the people you’ve killed were barley at 8 sweeps.” First she needed a distraction to get Redglare’s focus off of the case at hand.

“This is no time for games!” It was obvious the other woman’s words had gotten to Redglare, even from a distance away Mindfang could see how her grip on the dragon cane tightened.

Raising her arm up Mindfang shook her head, chuckling lowly. “I’m not playing a game. I’m curious, how did it feel? I’m curious.” When Redglare started to bear her teeth Mindfang knew her plan was working. Now the execute part 2.

She threw a glance at the rowdy lowbloods, loving the conflict that was going on. It’s so sad how much they love bloodshed. At least she didn’t kill without a good reason. She hadn’t even realized Redglare had started talking again, and even then she didn’t care. Focusing her gaze on the crowd she continued to stare, holding her hand to her forehead. Losing her vision eight-fold made mind control much harder, but luckily the crowd was so weak willed they soon gave in.

The first one that got over the barrier went straight for Redglare’s legs, in an attempt to tackle her to the ground. The smirk on Mindfang’s face grew as she watch lowblood after lowblood jump over the barrier and attack Redglare. She tried to fight them off of course, but one lucky troll got ahold of her cane before she could use it.

It surprised Mindfang just how easy it was to control all these trolls at once, but she didn’t dwell on it for too long of a time. Now she ordered them to drag Redglare over to the noose. Even though she was still kicking and screaming she was no match for them. There was simply too many of them. Once they reached noose they hoisted her up, and Mindfang could see her yellow eyes widening in shock as it went around her neck and was tightening.

She was still struggling, never giving up even near the end. But when Mindfang gave the final command, to grab her hands and pull her down, she finally stopped; her neck giving a loud snapping noise. She watched as Neophyte Redglare hung from the noose meant for her, grinning widely.

When the lowbloods were finally released of their mind control they scattered, some screaming in shock from realizing what they had done, others just running as far as they could. It took no time for the court to be empty again. Or so she thought.

Using Redglare’s cane she headed towards the exit when the ground started shaking. Turning quickly she found herself faced with His Honorable Tyranny himself.

The huge monster leaned over, reaching out with his huge clawed hands to grab at her.

. . .

After the events at the court Marquise Spinneret Mindfang disappeared for some time. Some sources claim she went west, others south. All that is known at this time is that the bounty for her head has increased. The Empress has no comment on this situation however, so nothing is being pursued at the time being.

Time will only tell what Marquise Mindfang has in store for next time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want a better idea of what happens after this chapter just go on my page and read "The Death of a Pirate"


	8. Chapter 8

“You don’t seem to be very happy about her death. I thought that’s what you wanted. Or was I mistaken?” There was a slight edge of irritation to the Condesce’s voice. Hadn’t this been what he wanted? Ever since his first encounter with the Teal blood he’d been wishing her death, and when it does come he becomes unresponsive. The only sign of emotion on his painted face was the furrowed eyebrows, and even those were hard to see.

He still spoke no words, and she soon left with an angry huff. Was it a shocked silence? No, he was ecstatic to hear about her death. Regret, maybe? No, that wouldn’t make any sense.

He had hated her; the stuck up attitude, the loud obnoxious voice, the bright clothes, her beliefs, everything and anything.

So why did he not feel completely satisfied with her death?

Perhaps it was because he wasn’t the one doing the killing. The Empress’ right hand man or not it would have been wrong. Well at least he took out some of his frustration on the one violet pirate that had come in not too long ago.

His blood was still fresh on the walls.

Now that this annoyance in his life was gone, it seemed things would go back to how they used to be. He’d kill, serve The Condesce, and sleep. Not the sweet life, but it could do and would do.

He had many more sweeps to live. Maybe if he was lucky, he’d find someone who filled him with so much rage again.

And maybe, this time he’d be able to do something about it.


End file.
